Hitching-buckle



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. E. MICK.

HITGHING BUCKLE.

No. 450,674. Patented Apr. 21, 1891.

NITEI) STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN E. MICK, OF PORTSMOUTH, OHIO.

HlTCHlNG-BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,674, dated April 21, 1891.

Application filed February 7, 1890. $erial No. 339.583. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. MICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hitching Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has relation to devices for hitching horses, and particularly to a buckle which when properly used is applied to that portion of the driving line or rein between the bit and the saddle, which portion is adapted to be passed about the post or other stationary object. The line is thus secured in such a manner that the horse will be safely tied; but upon pulling upon the opposite or drivers end of the line the latter will be released from the post and the horse freed therefrom.

The object of my invention is to produce more convenient, simple, and effective means for hitching and unhitching horses than have hitherto been employed.

With this end in view my invention consists in certain peculiar arrangements and combinations of parts more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a horse hitched to a post by my improved device; Fig. 2, a top view of the hitching portion of the line and the post, the latter being shown in section; Figs. 3 and 4, detail views of the buckle; Figs. 5, 6, and 7, views showing the various positions of the parts during the hitching and unhitching operation, and Fig. 8 a modification showing an extra safety-loop.

The reference-letter A indicates the driving line or rein, which is provided with my improved buckle B. This buckle consists of a rectangular metallic skeleton having side and end bars a and b. The end bars I) are provided on their under sides with raised surfaces or ribs b, and at the centers of the side bars (1 depending lugs or ears 0. are formed, between which is mounted the triangular roller 0. This roller consists of a hollow cylinder 0, through which passes the rivet D, which is introduced through perforations in the ears a and serves as a pivot on which the roller revolves. The ribs cl project from the surface of this cylinder 0 and extend the full length of the same, as shown more clearly in detail in Figs. 3 and L.

This buckle is placed on the line by passing the same beneath each end bar and over the triangular roller.

The method of hitching the horse is as follows: That portion of the line beyond the buckle or between the latter and the saddle is first passed about the post or other object to which the horse is to be tied, and a loop E there formed of the line. This loop or doubled portion is inserted beneath the end bar I) of the buckle and between the latter and the part of the line passing over the roller. The loop is then pushed down under the opposite end bar, between the latter and the rein, and brought out beyond it and contiguous to the line between the bit and the buckle. These manipulations of the loop E are allowed to take place by the triangular roller 0, the friction of the leather against the ribs of which causes the roller to turn or revolve, and the loop is introduced between the end bars. This is shown more clearly in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, which represent the three different positions the parts assume as the hitch is made. After the device has been adjusted, as just described, the buckle is pushed up on the line as tight as possible against the post, and any strain brought to bear upon the bit end of the line will fail to release the same from the post; but on the contrary the more pressure brought to bear on the line the tighter the hitch becomes, as the friction,the loop, and the ribs on the end bars and the roller will be continually increased.

To unhitch the horse the driver from his seat in the vehicle pulls upon the line, which will cause the loop E to be drawn back to the position shown in Fig. 6, when the roller will turn and allow the loop to be withdrawn from between the end bar and the roller. Upon a continued pulling on the rein the roller will again turn and allow the loop to be drawn out of the opposite end of the buckle, when it will readily be seen that the line will be released from the post and the horse freed.

The rein used is the ordinary fiat one, and

the hitch can be made still more secure by employing an extra loop F, which is inserted through the loop E in the manner shown in Fig. 8. However, for ordinary purposes the simplest hitch Will suffice, and the peculiar advantages of the same being apparent it is unnecessary to here enumerate them.

It is evident that many slight variations in the form and application of my device which might suggest themselves to one skilled in the art could be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not confine myself to the precise construction herein shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

JOHN E. MICK.

Vitnesses:

LoUIs C. KIEFER. HARRY BALL. 

